Quotes from Malidoma Patrice Some

Acknowledgment of error is not error. A person who sincerely tells the spirit that he did something wrong cannot be punished anymore. The wrong itself is its own punishment. Power

My father finally performed the ritual thathe owed to the Earth Shrine, but the questions remain: Why do the innocent suffer from the negligence of others? Why is it that social responsibilities are inseparable from rituals? And why is it so important that every individual in a community stay in good rapport with their gods and goddesses? Here

So one of the ways to maintain a certain sense of self is to remain somewhat linked to essential traditionalism.

As humans, we are fascinated by supernatural, spiritual power. Every moment you display this kind of power to the world, that power isolates you. You become displaced by the power you display because that power is also displaced through you. For

I remember once being asked by an American, "Does everyone in your country still sleep in trees?" And I replied, "Yes." He was overjoyed (or at least seemed so) at meeting someone who had slept in a tree. But when I added that in our capital city of Ouagadougou the ambassador of the United States sleeps in the tallest tree, he walked away confused and a bit suspicious. Americans are bred to expect the rest of the world to be underdeveloped. The

People in touch with this archetype are in search of caring, for their spirit seeks to transcend the stress placed on the body and the mind by the rapid motion of everyday life around them. Such people would not be ashamed to express their hunger for transcendence — these are the kind of people in need of ritual. Ritual:

Ritual is not compatible with the rapid rhythm that industrialism has injected into life. So whenever ritual happens in a place commanded by or dominated by a machine, ritual becomes a statement against the very rhythm that feeds the needs of that machine. It makes no difference whether it is a political machine or otherwise. I

Anyone who worships his own creation, something of his own making, is someone in a state of confusion. Power

The problem with Western culture is that it is a show-off culture that intimidates. This is why it is generating so much death, loss and displacement. To perform ritual for show is to generate some kind of death or loss. Concealment of ritual is an act of life preservation because it is only in its concealment that needs are met that cannot be met in any other way. If

If our goal is to repair all the damage done by the powers of progress, it becomes important to make sure that we focus on how to stay underground while attempting to reconnect with true ritual and true spirits.

It would be years before I understood that tenderness is the weapon used by the torturer to win over his victim.